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JAMES DUGAN, OF NEW YGRK; N. Y.

Lette/rs Patent No. 93,866, dated August 17, 1869; antedatecl August 12, 1869.

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The Schedule referred to inthe'se Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all lwhom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES DUGAN, .of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gaps for Locking Bottles, l)emijol1ns,and other like vessels, of which the following is a full clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying. drawing, forming part of this speciiication, andin which- Figure 1 represents a locking-cap constructed in accordance' with my invention, showing the same in its closed condition, and as applied to a bottle-neck; and

lFigure 2, an' interior view of said cap as thrown open.

`Similar' letters'of reference indicate corresponding pints.

My invention relates to caps of a detachable character used for seeming bottles, demijohns, and other necked vessels closed with a cork or stopper, from belng opened, and the contents extracted from them sur- .reptitiously.

Said invention or improvement consists in a `vertioallyalivided and hinged or opening-and-closing nidtal cap, capable of being fastened when closed, with a lock, and constructed'so that when shut to, it' embraces the neck of the bottle or other Vessel and covers the coik, and is formed with an interior lower flange or projection, to bite under the swell or lib on the neck, so that it cannot be drawn nii' or removed .without being unlocked and opened. v

Referring to the accompanying drawingy i n A A are the two halves of a cylindrical or taper cap, `hinged as at a, and made of metal, or other suitable material, with a top or tops, B, and lower internally-v projectinglange or flanges C, also being formed with progeotions b b, through which the bow of a padlock, D, may be passed.

Instead of making the cap in sections, A A', it may he struck ont of sheet-metal, in `one piece, and have' a spring-like action, to adn'iit of its being opened and closed 1n a similar manner, and it may be made of different shapes, to t difierently-shaped bottle or vesselnecks. The construction, however, represented in the drawing will suffice to explain the peculiar'character of the invention. Its application is as follows:

The padlock D having been unlocked, the sections A A are opened, and the cap slipped over or passed around the neck of the bottle, after which said sections are closed and locked.

Thus situated and locked, the cap, it will be seen, cannot be drawn o from the neck E of the bott-le, or other vessel, by reason of its internal projection or ange G protruding, so that it catches under the swell or rib c of the neck on any attempt to lifttheicap from oii' the latter; and, inasmuch as said cap is more or less of a closed-in character at its top, the cork or stopper cannot be withdrawn from the neck without iirst un locking, or unlocking and removing the cap.

By making the cap to open and close, as described, and forming it with a lip or an ge, O, the same is more readily applied to the neckand one cap maybe made to suit various-sized necks.

There being no adjustment 4necessary of the projection or viiange C, its action as a stop to prevent withdrawal ofthe cap when closed is rendered certain.

The lock, too, being'independent of the cap, may be used for other purposes, or for caps of different sizes.

I am aware that bottle-Stoppers made with a cap hinged horizontally, and containing a flexible material,

have heretofore been used. These, therefore, I do not claim; but

Vhat is here claimed, and desired tobe secured by l Letters Patent', is-

i The cap B, opening vertically, and provided with lugs b and ange c, whereby it may be secured to the neck of a bottle by an independent lock, to enclose the stopper and prevent access thereto, as shown and described.

-JAMES DUGAN. Witnesses:

FRED; HAYNES, A. KINNIER. 

